Protests in Leh demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status turned violent, with mobs torching vehicles and the BJP office; prohibitory orders were imposed.
Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike, said youth resentment over five years of ineffective peaceful protests triggered the unrest.
He attributed the immediate violence to the hospitalisation of two fasting protesters, calling the deaths of several young people “very sad and tragic.”
Sonam Wangchuk, a climate activist, lamented the violence in Leh on Wednesday and attributed the deaths of four young people on the growing resentment among "Gen Z."
Following a violent movement calling for Ladakh's statehood and inclusion in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, authorities in the Leh district of Ladakh issued prohibitory orders on Wednesday under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), prohibiting gatherings of five or more people. The BJP office and multiple cars were set on fire by protesters.
After many young people flocked to the streets, the climate activist who was spearheading a hunger strike in Leh over the dual demands called it off.
Wangchuk stated during an online press conference that two of the demonstrators, a 62-year-old lady and a 72-year-old man, were admitted to a hospital on Tuesday and that this was probably the direct cause of the violent demonstration.
According to Wangchuk, the youths' dissatisfaction had been growing as the nonviolent demonstrations were having little effect. According to reports, three to five young people were killed, he added.
He recounted of how many 'Gen Z' adolescents showed up at the protest site on Wednesday, when prayers were being held. Then, 2,000 to 5,000 young people, he added, flocked to the streets.
"Two people were taken to the hospital yesterday. That appears to be the immediate trigger... It moved the younger generation. Youths of Ladakh together gave a call for Ladakh bandh, and all the people gathered at the site where we were sitting on a fast.
"As the programme was progressing with prayer and speeches, a group of young people went out raising slogans. Later, we heard they went on a rampage, burnt police vehicles and the BJP office in Leh," Wangchuk said.
"What happened today is very sad. It is being said that three to four youths have been killed," he said.
The activist emphasised that the teenagers' growing dissatisfaction over the failure of their nonviolent protests over the previous five years was the indirect cause of the violence. According to him, the home ministry's October 6 date for the meeting with the Ladakh organisations also caused discontent among the populace.
“No one knew something like this would happen. Thousands came out and this situation was created," he said.
When asked if any political parties may have been involved in the occurrences, Wangchuk responded, "Ladakh's political organisations lack the capacity to coordinate thousands of young people. Their hearts are filled with frustration. "We hadn't even seen Gen Z at the demonstration before they took to the streets. The youths' lack of participation in the demonstration was a common grievance here," he continued.
"I request the youth of Ladakh to stop the violence forthwith as it only causes harm to our cause and further deteriorates the situation. We do not want instability in Ladakh and the country,” he told his supporters.
Tear gas shells were heard in the backdrop.
“This is the saddest day for Ladakh and for myself personally because the path we are treading for the last five years was peaceful… We held hunger strikes on five occasions and walked from Leh to Delhi but today we are seeing our message of peace failing because of the incidents of violence and arson,” Wangchuk said.
He also appealed to the administration to stop firing teargas shells and urged the government to be more sensitive.
“We are ending our fast immediately… the aim of the hunger strike is not fulfilled if our youth lose their lives.”
“It is time to carry forward the dialogue with a cool mind. We will keep our agitation non-violent and I also want to ask the government to listen to our message of peace… when the message of peace is ignored, such a situation arises,” he said.
The situation is the outcome of frustration among the youth because they have been kept away from jobs, Wangchuk said, adding that there is no democracy in Ladakh and the Sixth Schedule promise made to the public has not been fulfilled either.
The unrest followed the hospitalisation of two participants from a 35-day hunger strike that began on 10 September, led by LAB members, with climate activist Sonam Wangchuk also participating under the LAB umbrella.
With PTI inputs.
